Viet Nam makes shoes for the world

Update:
July, 18/2015 - 12:00

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Many people all over the world wear shoes made in Viet Nam.

In fact, there are only three countries in the world that make more shoes.

They are China, India and Brazil.

Workers produce shoes for export at My Phong Shoe Company Limited in the southern province of Tra Vinh. Viet Nam is currently the third largest exporter of footwear in the world. - VNA/VNS Photo An Hieu

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam is now the third largest exporter of footwear in the world, and it can increase its exports further by using opportunities provided by free trade agreements.

Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, general secretary of the Viet Nam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso), said Viet Nam was the world's fourth largest footwear producer, after China, India and Brazil, but it had the third largest value of exports, after China and Italy.

Vietnamese footwear has been shipped to 50 overseas markets, and the country is the second largest footwear exporter to the United States, the European Union and Japan. Also, Vietnamese handbags have been exported to 40 countries and territories.

According to the General Department of Customs, the value of the leather, footwear and handbag industry's exports reached $5.84 billion in the first five months this year, up 16.8 per cent from the same period last year.

The association expects the industry to achieve year-on-year growth of 18 per cent in the first half of this year, with total export value reaching $7.15 billion — $5.7 billion from footwear and $1.45 billion from handbags.

Xuan said existing and future free trade agreements (FTAs) were expected to have a positive impact on the development of the industry. These agreements include the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, the Viet Nam-European Union FTA, the agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Community agreement.

When the TPP deal is signed, Viet Nam expects import tax rates to drop from between 3.5 per cent and 57.4 per cent to zero. Xuan said that would be a breakthrough for the industry, enabling it to increase its exports in both volume and value.

This year, the FTAs had had no direct impact on the industry's exports, but they had created favourable conditions for the industry to attract investments in production of material and finished products for export, she said.

Viet Nam needs to develop its production of raw material for the footwear and handbag industry to reduce its dependence on China in this regard, according to Xuan. The industry expects foreign investors to bring production technology to improve the quality of products and upgrade the technology here.

The industry and Lefaso would work with the Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency to hold a conference on trade promotion for the leather, footwear and handbag industry on July 15 with the aim of attracting more foreign investors, Xuan said.

She noted that some 200 local and foreign companies would take part in the conference to promote cooperation in investment, production and trade.

The participants would discuss opportunities and challenges faced by the local footwear and handbag industry in production and export, as well as ways to improve the competitiveness of the industry by 2020, the Thoi bao Tai chinh online reported. — VNS

GLOSSARY

Viet Nam is now the third largest exporter of footwear in the world, and it can increase its exports further by using opportunities provided by free trade agreements.

If there is a free trade agreement between countries, people buying and selling things between those countries would not need to pay taxes when they do business in one another's countries.

Vietnamese footwear has been shipped to 50 overseas markets, and the country is the second largest footwear exporter to the United States, the European Union and Japan. Also, Vietnamese handbags have been exported to 40 countries and territories.

The European Union is a group of countries in Europe that have come together to be stronger.

Territories are places that are not countries on their own but are a bit different to the countries that they are part of. Hong Kong is an example.

When the TPP deal is signed, Viet Nam expects import tax rates to drop from between 3.5 per cent and 57.4 per cent to zero. Xuan said that would be a breakthrough for the industry, enabling it to increase its exports in both volume and value.

Taxes that are charged on goods coming into a country are imports taxes.

A breakthrough happens when there is sudden development that causes successes to be possible. In this case it is the dropping of import tax rates.

Viet Nam needs to develop its production of raw material for the footwear and handbag industry to reduce its dependence on China in this regard, according to the Xuan.

If Viet Nam is dependent on China for raw materials for the footwear and handbag industry, it needs to get these materials from China and therefore needs China badly in this way. However, if it managed to get raw materials from elsewhere it would not be as dependent on China for them and would therefore reduce its dependency on China.

The industry expects foreign investors to bring production technology to improve the quality of products and upgrade the technology here.

Foreign investors are people who come from other countries and spend money on projects they hope will make more money.

WORKSHEET

Find words that mean the following in the Word Search:

1. An ocean in the full name of the TPP agreement.

2. Goods that are sold to buyers in other countries.

3. Goods that are bought by buyers in Viet Nam from sellers in other countries.

4. An item popular with women which, like footwear, is made from leather.

5. An island country off the coast of mainland Asia that is one of 50 countries to which Viet Nam exports footwear.